Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Sold by First Merchants Corp

First Merchants Corp lowered its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 11.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 202,142 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 26,873 shares during the period. First Merchants Corp's holdings in Walmart were worth $18,264,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Creative Planning grew its stake in Walmart by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 1,800,743 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $142,973,000 after acquiring an additional 83,376 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB grew its stake in Walmart by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 5,345,293 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $431,632,000 after acquiring an additional 18,644 shares in the last quarter. Buffington Mohr McNeal grew its stake in Walmart by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. Buffington Mohr McNeal now owns 15,028 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,214,000 after acquiring an additional 1,396 shares in the last quarter. Greenup Street Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Walmart in the 3rd quarter valued at about $237,000. Finally, Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 52,599 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,247,000 after purchasing an additional 2,149 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total value of $3,754,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 257,281 shares of the company's stock, valued at $25,419,362.80. This trade represents a 12.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.62, for a total transaction of $2,697,464.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,766,491 shares in the company, valued at $348,852,396.42. This trade represents a 0.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 175,177 shares of company stock valued at $16,403,728 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

Walmart Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:WMT traded down $0.31 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $103.73. The stock had a trading volume of 18,169,760 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,889,558. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $57.60 and a 1 year high of $105.30. The firm's 50 day moving average is $95.20 and its 200-day moving average is $85.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $833.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.57, a P/E/G ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.55.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The company's revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.51 EPS. Research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $101.87.

Walmart Profile

Walmart Inc engages in the operation of retail, wholesale, other units, and eCommerce worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Walmart U.S., Walmart International, and Sam's Club. It operates supercenters, supermarkets, hypermarkets, warehouse clubs, cash and carry stores, and discount stores under Walmart and Walmart Neighborhood Market brands; membership-only warehouse clubs; ecommerce websites, such as walmart.com.mx, walmart.ca, flipkart.com, PhonePe and other sites; and mobile commerce applications.